Aracari's Winglet
Chapter One Aracari (AviWing) Aracari soared down to the mountain below her, nervously tapping her claws. She had been chosen to go to Jade Mountain Academy, a legendary school known for bringing the seven, now fourteen tribes together. The AviWing landed gracefully beside the cave entrance and pulled her information form out of her leather pack. It read: Welcome to Jade Mountain Academy! Here you will be working with dragons from all of the other tribes! Some information you will need to know is; 1~ never leave the mountain without permission, 2~ only take prey if you're hungry, 3~ no fire breathing outside your sleeping area! 4~ always be nice! You will have a sleeping cave personalized for your tribe, but you will have classes with your winglet Here are your Winglets~ Jade~ SkyWing~ Flap AviWing~ Aracari (AW) SeaWing~ Misty TempestWing~ Rushing Water NightWing~ Mysterious DeathWing~ Void RainWing~ Ivory MistWing~ Procella IceWing~ Bharal SwiftWing~ Vronti SandWing~ Dusty DriftWing~ Bobcat MudWing~ Anaconda TrickWing~ Korat Hybrids~ Catfish, Blossom Aracari didn't bother reading the rest of the winglets. She just scanned the page for the rest of the AviWings. Jacamar... Barbet... Eagle... and Zephyr. Wait, what? Aracari nearly jumped. Zephyr was her best friend! And she was coming to school with her! Just then, the four AviWings landed beside her. Aracari jumped, surprised, and a female dragon chuckled. "Well, looks like we've got a jumpy one!" she snickered. She walked up to Aracari. "My name's Barbet. Just stay out of my way, and you won't have any trouble." Aracari nodded reluctantly before Barbet stalked away, a male AviWing following with extra luggage in his arms. "Wait, Aracari? Is that you?" said Zephyr's voice. She whipped around and saw her best friend standing near a another bird dragon. "Zephyr!" she yelled happily. She ran over to the violet-blue dragoness and touched wings. "I was so excited when I saw you on here!" Aracari pointed at the paper in her talon. Happiness was pulsing from her best friend. "How's Saguaro? Is she still alive?" Zephyr asked. Aracari reached into her pack and pulled out a small cage with a bearded dragon lizard inside. "Yup. I made sure no one ate her!" "What color morph is she?" the male dragon by Zephyr asked. Aracari looked at him. "Citrus tiger," she replied. "You've never seen this morph before?" The dragon shook his head and pulled a cage out of his luggage with a red lizard inside. "No, I've just seen red, but I've heard about the citrus." Unable to resist the urge, Aracari walked over and inspected the bearded dragon. The AviWing opened his cage and pulled it out. He placed the lizard in the other dragon's talons. Suddenly, a rowdy SkyWing flapped wildly down beside the bird dragons. The red lizard leaped out of Aracari's talons and hissed in his cage, chin turning black. "Hey!" the AviWing yelled at the SkyWing. "You got Parch mad!" The sky dragon shrugged. "Sorry," she muttered before running over to where more SkyWings and TempestWings were landing on the stone. The AviWing put Parch in his bag again and turned towards Aracari. "Sorry about that. I'm Jacamar. What's your name?" he asked. "Aracari," the bird dragon replied. More dragons began to land on the rocks, mingling with allies or trade parteners. The TempestWings were talking enthusiastically with the SkyWings and MistWings about a new gold mine that was found in their kingdom, while the NightWings gossiped with SeaWngs. Then, the DeathWings swooped down from the sky. There were a few growls and whimpers as they stalked their way through the crowd, making every single dragon cower in fear as they passed. One of the black dragons with a white and red mask ducked her head in shame as malevolent glares met her eyes, but was whacked by another dragon's wing as if to say 'Be proud of that!'. She straightened her neck and walked with the rest of her group towards the cave entrance. They stopped a few feet away and sat down, looking smug. "Alright, I think that's everyone!" said a quiet, yet commanding voice. A pale blue dragon stepped out of the cave, her scales shimmering in the sun. Her sky-colored eyes swept across the different tribes. Many dragons gasped. "It's General Moonflight! She's the dragon that killed Queen Raptor!" one dragon yelped. Another bold TempestWing shouted, "Wow! I thought she'd be a lot taller!" Moonflight's narrow snout turned his way. She grinned. "That's what Raptor thought," the pretty dragon chuckled. "And don't forget, I can read minds and even talk to a dragon in there." The TempestWing suddenly looked nervous, and Moonflight's eyes glazed over with a strange gray color. The other dragon gasped and stared at the sky for a moment before looking at the blue hybrid again. "Okay, I'll do that," he said. The other dragons around him gave the TempestWing a questioning look. "Anyways," Moonflight continued as the sky began to darken. "SkyWing, TempestWing, DriftWing, and AviWing sleeping areas are on the cliffs on the mountain. Sky is open, tempest is surrounded by pines, drift has a lot of ferns, and avi has oaks. All beds are pre-made, but feel free to move or change them. All right, those four tribes can go!" Aracari and the other selected tribes lifted into the air, swooping around the mountain and landing on their specific ledges. She looked up at the towering oak trees. There was a giant bird's nest in each one, large enough to fit two dragons the size of a full-grown SkyWing. Aracari flew up to an extra-high bed and landed inside. It was filled with elk and wolf leather so the sticks wouldn't poke a dragon. Aracari took Saguaro's cage out of her bag and let her loose on the nest, knowing that she would run to her if startled. The AviWing curled up, and cooed with pleasure as her pet crawled on her nose and relaxed. Then, Aracari heard wingbeats coming up to her nest. Barbet perched on the side as she looked up, Saguaro still on her head. The bossy AviWing laughed hysterically. "What the heck?" she snickered. Aracari bristled, embarrassed. "Her name's Saguaro. She's my pet." Barbet's eyes narrowed. "She looks tasty. Why don't you eat her?" "Uh, 'cause she's my pet?" Aracari replied reluctantly. She instantly regretted her response. Barbet lowered her head so it was right in front of the other dragon's nose. The lizard skittered away. "Are you being sarcastic with me!" she hissed. Aracari shook her head. "No, no. It's just... why would I eat my pet?" Barbet's gaze slowly drifted towards Saguaro. In a flash, she was on top of her lizard, bending over to take a bite. But Aracari was just as fast. She bowled into the other dragon and knocked her over the edge of the nest, feathers ruffling. Barbet landed on a branch below. By now, the other AviWings had perched on branches surrounding the nest. "What's happening?" Jacamar asked. Barbet looked up at him with fake hurt in her black eyes. "I was just trying to pet her lizard, and she pushed me off!" Jacamar's eyes narrowed at both of the AviWing dragons. Aracari shook her head. "No, she was bending down to eat her. I was protecting Saguaro," she said. Her lizard crawled onto her nose and hissed violently at Barbet. "You believe me, right?" Barbet said sweetly to Jacamar. "You know that I would never eat a lizard, especially a bearded dragon!" Jacamar shook his head. "No, Saguaro wouldn't be hissing at you right now if you didn't attack her. I suggest you stop lying before it gets you in trouble," he said icily. Barbet snarled and swooped down to a nest just under Aracari's, muttering something under her breath. The other dragons did the same, except for Jacamar. "Sorry about her," he said. "We were best friends before this, but now I think that we should both move on. I didn't know that she would actually lie to me." Aracari sighed and curled up again. "Well, goodnight." Chapter Two Catfish (Mud/SeaWing) Catfish was happy to be at Jade Mountain Academy. She had been cast away from the mud kingdom when the war started, and fought for the SeaWings later in her life. Now, she was not treated like an outcast. She was just another normal dragon at Jade Mountain, and didn't get any of the malevolent stares that met her in the mud kingdom. She was interrupted from her thoughts when her new history teacher, Hyena, dropped a scroll on her desk. "Today, you will be learning about the great hybrid war," he said. "Now, who can tell me all of the alliances?" Aracari's talon shot up. When Hyena nodded, she said,"SeaWings, SandWings, MistWings, TempestWings, some SkyWings, and hybrids fought for the crossbreeding rights, and IceWings, MudWings, SwiftWings, TrickWings, and some RainWings and NightWings fought against those rights," she recited quietly. "Very good. Now, where did the first battle take place?" he asked again. All of the students answered, "The SkyWing Palace." Catfish waited patiently for the class to finish. She didn't really like school, but knew that she was good at it without listening in class. She could just study afterwards in the library and not have to deal with Korat, a TrickWing, throwing feathers everywhere. The brown dragon was the third dragonet out the door on the way to battle training. But she swiftly weaved herself to the front, glad that she didn't have her mother's thickset MudWing body. Instead, she was lean and fast like her father. Catfish trotted over to Aracari. The AviWing was small, but she looked wiry and muscular. Her straight horns and beak were tattooed with weaving black lines. "Yay! Fighting class!" Catfish exclaimed. "The only subject that isn't boring, besides lunch. Lunch is good." Aracari laughed. "Are you more offense or defense?" "Oh, definitely offense. I can't block attacks at all!" "I can block pretty well, and I'm fast," Aracari said, then stiffened as another AviWing walked by. The other dragon snickered and whacked Aracari's head with her wing. Catfish casually flicked her tail and tripped the other dragon, smothering a laugh. She heard a loud thump as she fell to the floor. "Who was that?" Catfish asked, laughing with Aracari. "Oh, that's Barbet. She's pretty rude, and poor Eagle helps her with the most ridiculous stuff because she is taking advantage of him liking her," Aracari said. Catfish looked back at Barbet. A dark brown-speckled AviWing was helping her up, blocking the flood of dragons from trampling her. "Hey Aracari! How did you know all that stuff in history?" a voice said behind Catfish. Bobcat was walking behind them, taking quick glances in one direction. "My mom worked in a library for a while, and my dad was a commander in the army, even though most AviWings didn't participate in the war. I had a lot of time to study," Aracari replied. Bobcat nodded. "Wait, what class do we have next?" "Battle training," Catfish and Aracari said at the same time. Bobcat jumped and flapped her wings. "Yay! Battle training! I thought of a new move last night!" The wiry DriftWing darted down the hall, tail lashing. Dusty, a broad-shouldered SandWing followed right behind her. Chapter Three Rushing Water (TempestWing) Rush hated history class. Hyena wasn't bad. In fact, he was probably one of the best teachers in Rush's opinion. But history... Rush was glad to have battle training next. He did pretty good, too, beating almost everyone in the tournament. Aracari was the only dragon that beat him. She was a shy, gentle AviWing that only opened up around her friends. And after seeing her bearded dragon Saguaro, Rush thought she was pretty cool. Aracari was fast and agile, and used tricks to win fights. She would go limp whenever you had pounced on her, then jump up and thump your head with her wings when you loosened your grip. Rush was really happy when Flap did well in the fighting tournament. She was his crush, but he didn't know if she liked him back. As Rush was walking to lunch, Void, a DeathWing walked up beside him. "Did you do good in the tournament?" she asked sheepishly. Rush just hurried away, not wanting to talk with a Death dragon. His parents had told him stories of how vicious they could be. The lunch room was huge, with a towering ceiling and tables of many sizes. Most dragons were sticking with their own tribes, but a few of the dragon tribes mingled together. Rush saw Aracari run to a muscular violet-blue AviWing, and another green and orange bird dragon. Rush sat down with the other TempestWings at a large wooden table. The dragons sitting there were having an arm wrestling tournament, with some dragons handing out cookies to the winners. Rush enjoyed arm wrestling for a while, but suddenly everyone was quiet and motionless as a shadow fell into the large room. A massive dragon was standing in a torch-lit hallway. Her tan and violet skin glowed as she walked through the entrance. Moonflight was just walking out of another doorway, reading a half-written scroll with deep blue ink. Then she looked up and dropped it. "Sunrise!" Sunrise grinned and walked over to the pale blue dragon, giving her a hug. "You still haven't gotten any taller?" she laughed. Moonflight does look like a dragonet compared to her, Rush thought, then instantly heard Moonflight tell him that short was okay telepathically. Another dragon came in, and he was an incredibly handsome NightWing with jet black scales and unnaturally long claws. "Stonetalon!" Moonflight cried. She talked excitedly with the two massive dragons, leaving the students silent and dumbfounded. "Who are they? A pale green and vibrant pink RainWaing asked. "They helped the hybrids in the war. My dad told me about them," Aracari replied shyly. Another AviWing glared at her. She was one of the most beautiful dragons Rush had ever seen, and he couldn't help but start glaring at Aracari with her. He knew her name was Barbet, and she was already one of the most popular dragonets at Jade Mountain. "Well, you had a famous daddy, then? Who was he?" the pretty AviWing sneered. Whispers spread across the room. Aracari blushed. "Commander Oriole." Barbet's black eyes widened. "What?" she managed to squeak. The whispering intensified. Commander Oriole was famous for leading many battles for Moonflight. He was very smart, and always knew exactly how to win a battle. Once Aracari said it, Rush instantly saw the family resemblance. Aracari looked just like Commander Oriole, from what Rush had seen in scrolls. Barbet looked so flustered that Rush barely suppressed a laugh. This is kind of funny! ''he thought. The pretty dragon just tilted her head up. "My mom knew your dad. She said he was never serious off of the battlefield," Barbet said. Her feathers were sticking up at odd angles. Aracari just laughed. "Trust me, I've had the same problem with him," she said. The AviWing didn't seem so shy anymore. In fact, she looked pretty confident. "Oh, and by the way, my dad said your mom was really full of herself. Kind of like you." Barbet looked outraged as Aracari stood up and grabbed another fish from the table. She sat down and gave a purplish-blue AviWing a high-five. After a few seconds, everyone was talking again. "Wow, I didn't expect Aracari to be so fiesty," Flap said. "She seemed so quiet!" Rush looked at her. "I know, right? Barbet was really rude, so I probably would have done the same thing." Flap nodded. "You know, Aracari's pretty cool." "Yeah, she is," Rush said. He was going to say more, but he was interrupted by Markhor, the battle training teacher. "All right, quiet down. I have something to say!" the hybrid shouted. Everyone instantly fell silent, not wanting to anger the cranky teacher. "We will be having a school dance in two weeks. Your parents are also welcome to come, so feel free to invite them." Markhor stomped down the hall with Hyena, who had rushed to her side and was now carefully twining his tail with hers. She leaned into him, surprising most of the students. Rush looked at Flap. ''Should I ask her to go to the dance with me? Chapter Four Aracari (AviWing) The next few days were pretty hostile between Aracari and Barbet. The two girls wanted Jacamar to ask them to the dance, and Barbet was taking it pretty seriously. She had Eagle help her look a little too good. Her claws were painted with sparkling gold polish, and her horns were now draped with teardrop diamonds. Barbet put a long pink silk scarf around her neck. It draped delicately across her feathered wings, which were cleaned perfectly at all times. Aracari wasn't trying too hard, though. She'd talked to Jacamar the day before, when they were sitting on a ledge in free time. "Aracari, don't let Barbet get to you. She's just a petty dragoness. I think you know who I'm asking to the dance," he'd said to her. Aracari was pretty sure she blushed really hard. Not many boys had talked to her like this, and most of those boys back stabbed her. But Jacamar was different. Even Zephyr thought he was okay, but she still gave him the stink eye when he stared at Aracari. Jacamar put his talon on Aracari's for a few seconds before launching himself into the sky. "Race you to that mountain!" he said, flicking his tail towards one of the mountains near the academy. Aracari took off, tilting her wings perfectly so the wind pushed her while she was flapping. She reached the mountain first and waited for Jacamar. He flopped down on a boulder, panting. "How did you do that?" he gasped. "Wind!" she replied. "I angled my wings so the wind pushed me!" Jacamar stood up and jumped down to her. "You are a genius! I tried to do that, but it didn't work very well." Aracari grinned. "More science for you!" She shot into the air and spun, laughing. Jacamar flew after her, trying to angle his wings perfectly. Once they were tilted like Aracari's, he was able to keep up with her. Barbet had flown up right next to them. "Oh hey, Jacamar. Aracari, would you fly somewhere else for a moment? I'd like to talk to my friend." Jacamar rolled his eyes, and Aracari had to smother a giggle. "Alright." She dove towards a tree and landed gracefully in a thick branch, watching Jacamar land on a ledge with Barbet. Aracari reached out with her mind, trying to sense their emotions. She flicked her tail triumphantly as they flooded in. Jacamar was impatient and angry around his former friend, and Barbet was feeling very desperate. The pretty dragoness had a crush on Jacamar, based on her feelings. Aracari felt a growl rise in her throat as Barbet took a step closer to her crush, only an inch between their snouts. "You like him, don't you?" Aracari whipped around and saw Moonflight sitting on the same branch, tail wrapped around it to keep her from falling off. "Um... well... yes. I do. But Barbet likes him, too," she replied, slightly embarrassed. Moonflight just shrugged. "He has no feelings for her. In fact, he has very strong feelings for someone else." "You won't tell him, will you? Even if he has a crush on me?" The hybrid nodded. "I don't share other's thoughts. To be honest, I don't usually pay much attention to them." A weird thought hit Aracari's mind. "Do any of the students have crushes on you?" Moonflight rolled her eyes. "Three major crushes and five little ones. To be honest, I get really uncomfortable around those students." Aracari winced. "I bet Prince Sidewinder would expel them if he knew!" she joked, and Moonflight laughed. "Should I tell him?" "NO!" Aracari laughed. She jumped as Zephyr crashed through the leaves and landed heavily on the branch. "Sorry it took me so long! Hyena made me organize the scrolls because I was talking so much," she panted. "Oh my! Zephyr was talking too much? What a surprise!" Aracari said, nudging her best friend. Zephyr whacked her playfully with her wing. Aracari turned around, and Moonflight was gone. But in her place was an envelope sealed with her father's symbol, a chirping oriole. She climbed across the branch and opened the letter. It read: Aracari, We got an invitation to come to the academy for the night of the school dance. We can't wait to see you! Your mother has been so worried, and I hope she calms down once she's seen you. Being away from the war is absolutely amazing! '' ''Love you so much, Dad Chapter Five Void (DeathWing) Sobbing, Void ran outside after lunch and ran straight into Aracari. "Void, what's wrong?" she asked. The DeathWing was surprised she even knew her name. Void lifted a jet-black talon to wipe a tear from her mask. "Oh, it's nothing, I just-" Aracari interrupted her. "You can trust me, I swear." The DeathWing was quiet for a moment before saying, "Let's go find a quiet place where we can talk." Leaping into the sky, Aracari swooped gracefully onto a thick branch, Void trying to follow her as quickly as possible. She's so fast! the DeathWing thought. Landing on the branch, Void lost control of herself. "Why is everyone so afraid of me?" she cried. "DeathWings aren't that bad!" "Slow down," Aracari said softly. "What's going on?" Void sniffled. "I think Rush is cute, and I want him to ask me to the dance. BUT HE HATES ME!" she shrieked. "I try to talk to him, but he just panics and runs away!" "I'm so sorry!" Aracari gasped as Void buried her face in her hands. "Do you want me to talk to him about it?" Void looked up, feeling the rare emotion of hope. "You would do that?" Aracari smiled. "Of course." Void hugged the bird dragon, no longer crying. "Thank you so much!" The two dragonesses talked for a few minutes before Aracari leaped into the sky. She's so graceful, and pretty. Whoever asks her to the dance will be lucky, ''Void thought before she flew back into the mountain. Walking down the halls to the DeathWing cave, Void nearly started to skip. ''In your face, mom. I'm gonna have a date to the dance! Void's parents were very rude when compared to the average DeathWing, and often told her that she wasn't worth anything. But now Aracari was being nice, and Void didn't feel so terrible anymore. The DeathWing cave was very deep in the mountain, and the rock was almost jet-black inside. Animal skulls were hanging from the ceiling, and Void couldn't help but laugh at her tribe's first reaction to them. They were so excited. Curling up on her ledge, Void fell asleep. Chapter Six Rush (TempestWing) Rush ran over to Flap, who was talking to a rust-colored MudWing. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked his crush. Flap nodded. "Anaconda, could you wait for a second?" The MudWing nodded and Rush pulled Flap to a quiet corner of the cave. Taking a deep breath, he stood up taller. "Will you go to the dance with me?" he asked. Flap looked starstruck. "Oh, I... I don't have any feelings for you. I'm sorry, but no." She quickly walked away, leaving Rush alone. He blushed and ran out of the cave. Suddenly, Rush heard a familiar voice calling his name. Aracari walked towards Rush, a weird look on her face. "What's wrong?" she asked. Rush sat down next to the AviWing. "I asked Flap to the dance, and she said no. But how did you know something was wrong?" Aracari shrugged. "Animus accident. I can sense emotions, and my parents don't even know how it happened. And... about the dance... why are you scared of Void?" Rush thought for a moment. "Well, she's a DeathWing. Aren't they all evil?" Aracari rolled her eyes. "Void has been trying to talk to you. She has given you the time of day while most dragons don't like you because of your rambunctious personality. She believes in you, and you just treat her like dirt!" Aracari scolded. Rush gasped. The bird dragon was right. Void didn't give up. Void liked him. Flap didn't want to date. Flap was just a friend. Rush wanted to smack his head against the rock wall. How could he be so shallow? I'm going to ask her to the dance! ''he decided. "Thanks, Aracari!" Rush said as he ran down the hall into the main cave. Void was talking to Bobcat and Catfish, who were both laughing at a joke the DeathWing had said. Rush didn't even bother to pull Void aside. "Will you go to the dance with me?" he asked. Void's red eyes lit up with joy. "Yes!" she cried as she pulled Rush into a hug. He felt a rush of happiness. ''She forgives me! Chapter Seven Mysterious (NightWing) Mysterious was Moonflight's half brother, and he absolutely hated it. All the NightWing ever wanted was his mother's attention. Ambermoon always talked about how Moonflight was so smart, so strong, and so pretty. She never complimented him. Lost in thought, Mysterious ran into a pale green and vibrant pink RainWing. Thoughts of joy pulsed from her, giving the NightWing an instant headache. "Ugh, you're so happy it's undignified. Calm down!" he snapped. "Sorry!" she squeaked. "My name's Ivory, what's yours?" At that moment, Mysterious had a strange vision. He saw an older version of himself, jet-black wing held over an older Ivory. They were watching a black and dark rainbow dragonet play with an odd green-blue IceWing on the rainforest floor. Mysterious snapped himself back to reality and saw Ivory waving a colorful talon in his face. "Hello? Are you having a vision or something?" "Uh, yeah. I'm Mysterious," the NightWing said, confused by the vision. "Oooh, your name is perfect for you!" Ivory said. "I'm gonna call you Mystery." She walked away, leaving Mysterious dumbfounded. Ivory was his soulmate? Stalking away, Mysterious walked towards the NightWing cave. He held his dark wings close, hiding his deepest secret. For some reason, the few star scales he had glowed. One of the other NightWings walked past him, and whacked Mysterious with his wing. Mysterious whacked his foreleg with his tail, and heard the other dragon laugh as he walked into the cave. The NightWing cave was like a tiny rain forest of stone. Water dripped from stalagmites above, forming little pools of water on the floor. Mysterious sat on his nest of moss and pulled out a scroll written by a famous RainWing queen. It was an ancient prophecy about five dragonets, and the queen was one of them. The scroll was about her and the other dragonets choosing a SandWing queen and starting Jade Mountain for the first time, two thousand years ago. Looking at the pictures, Mysterious listed the names of the dragonets in his head. Queen Glory, Princess Tsunami, Princess Sunny, Clay, and Starflight. More Coming SoonCategory:Fanfictions Category:Fanfictions (Fanon) Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)